DCF worker from Chester charged with workers’ comp fraud

MIDDLETOWN >> A child services worker for the state Department of Children and Families was arrested Friday and charged with fraudulently collecting w

Published
2:59 pm EDT, Friday, March 20, 2015

Michael J. Pacelia, 40, of Maple Street, Chester, was charged with one count of fraudulent claim or receipt of benefits, a class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $15,000 fine, according to a relase from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Pacelia collected $11,892 in disability benefits after reporting an on-the-job injury in May 2014 that supposedly left him unable to work. Subsequent video surveillance showed him working in his yard and playing golf, the warrant states.

Pacelia, who is on administrative leave from DCF, was released on a written promise to appear in Middletown Superior Court on April 1.

This case is being prosecuted by the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.